The Time Mission
by Saiyan5Nine-tails
Summary: I'm FINALLY finished the over-haul of Time Mission. Please, take your time to read and review the new version of The Time Mission.
1. The Time Mission

The Time Mission

Isaac always liked nights like this at Torrington; whenever he had nothing for the next day due and everything was done, he would go to the library and read a book he brought with him to this school… and his new life. Two months have passed since Isaac met Martin and Diana again after almost 7 years, and since he became a Center agent himself, something he always wanted to be. He was surprised at the amount of paranormal activity in the world, since nearly every week they were called for a case.

_It's amazing how some stories can describe paranormal creatures so accurately, _Isaac mused as he read a book from one of his favorite series, _Artemis Fowl,_ and the creature he mused about were goblins. In the book, they had the natural traits given to goblins of most tales, and also the ability to wield fire, a trait that proved true, since his favorite coat was almost charred by them two weeks ago. He usually had such nights without interruptions, but this one would prove to be far different…

As he continued reading, an older woman came into the library, and was wearing the usual work clothes, and had violet hair, stern features and blue eyes. He would know her from anywhere, since of course, she was his mother. "I'm surprised you are up so late," she said as she walked over. "By this time, most kids in this school are fast asleep, even Diana sometimes."

"Which as we all know, only happens when she isn't studying for a test, or has nothing to do," Isaac added, well aware of Diana's work habits, "with both events being non-existent." Isaac, curious about why M.O.M was here in the first place, asked why she was there.

"Since you are the only one of the team awake, I decided to come here personally to tell you, that Octavia Paine somehow broke out of the Center's prison," she told Isaac.

Isaac knew of Octavia very well. He knew she sent those Black Ops agents to kill both him and his Dad when he was seven, and the fact she tried to destroy the Center with a super-creature she created, but was thwarted by Diana and Martin after they sent the creature to another dimension. She had a very big vendetta against M.O.M. But if there was one thing he did know, was that she couldn't get out on her own, since Center prison cells were intended for monsters, with the most advanced technologies, and so no human could break out of one.

"She may try to retrieve the creature again, so I want you to tell Martin and Diana about it in the morning."

"And after that, we try to find and stop her from doing so," Isaac asked.

"No, Isaac, you will stay out of this one," M.O.M replied.

"What do you mean? I have been through my share of danger with the group, but that doesn't mean that I can't go since you deemed it too dangerous for me, mother!" Isaac shouted in an uncharacteristic outburst.

"You will do as you are told, since you are _both _my agent _and _my son," M.O.M shouted back, "and you don't have enough experience to take on something as serious as this with the rest of the group."

And so the great argument began. "If you recall, I have performed excellently on the few missions I have been on, and even saved Diana on that one mission."

"That was just one mission out of the _nine_, while on another mission, you yourself fell victim to the target."

"True, that may have happened, but on the others, I performed very well, so just because you don't want me to get hurt, doesn't mean you can just keep me behind!"

"They have had experience with her, while you have none, meaning you're unprepared for it, and that's why you'll stay behind, while Agents Mystery and Lombard will find where she is and stop her!"

"_They won't find her in time."_

The fire of the argument sputtered as if it was exposed to a vacuum, as both Isaac and even M.O.M yelped as if they heard a ghost, and turned to the source of the voice. _That machine definitely wasn't there before, and neither was the girl,_ the thought rang simultaneously through both of their heads, as they saw a capsule-shaped vehicle parked squarely in the middle of the library, and the helmeted girl, wearing a red trench coat and black shirt and pants, that came with it.

_Amazing, _Isaac thought_, they both appeared and didn't even make a sound._

"Who are you," M.O.M demanded to the stranger, "and what is that?"

She only smiled, and said as she seemed to look at Isaac, "You'll have to come with me to find out."

M.O.M was uncertain whether or not to trust this person, but Isaac was more stunned by the smile, the clothing style and the voice. _It's impossible,_ he reasoned, _but that voice and smile seems all too familiar to me, and the clothes are like mine._ "How can we trust you," Isaac asked, "if we don't know who you are?"

"I was told you would ask that, and I was instructed to tell you when I got here."

"Who told you to," Isaac asked, eager to know, "Precisely?"

The masked figure hesitated. "…I can't tell you that right now. I just need you to come with me."

"To where, exactly," M.O.M asked interrogatively, "that machine looks like a schematic Billy drew up. In fact, the technology for such a design is illegal."

"Right now it is," the masked girl said, gesturing to the machine, "but when I came from, it has become necessary to use, and-"

"Wait a minute!" Isaac stated in surprise. "_When _you came from? What do you-?"

"Isaac," Olivia explained, "that appears to be the finished result of a time machine Billy sketched up."

"You mean…you are from the future?"

"…Yeah, that is precisely where I'm from." The girl stated.

"Do you have any idea as to how risky time travel really is?" M.O.M bellowed out. "Going back in time risks altering history, and-"

"That is precisely why this technology was allowed to be made," the girl pleaded, as if she was being scolded, "because…because the future is a living Hell, and you need to change things, so at least you have a chance at a peaceful life."

Silence filled the room. If the future was described as such, then M.O.M acknowledged the urgency. "I just need to get a U-Watch for Isaac. You stay right there."

With that, M.O.M activated a portal, and went to her office. Just as she did so, Isaac heard the girl say this: "…Okay, Grandma."

Isaac stood petrified, and he heard the girl's worried and shocked mutters as she realized what she said. His head creaked as he turned towards the girl, and she grasped her left arm with her right hand. It was only by the time M.O.M came back that Isaac could get the words out, and they came out with a scream.

"SAY WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S YOUR GRANDMOTHER?"

"Grand-mother?" M.O.M inquired to her shocked son. "What are you-?" She gasped as the words struck her, and she turned towards the girl, who placed her hands on her helmet. "Y-you mean…you're…?" M.O.M gasped as she saw the face beneath the helmet.

The girl's face seemed to resemble Isaac's own face, and she had emerald green eyes. But the most telling part about her features was her silver-white hair that went slightly past her shoulder. She smiled sheepishly at the shocked Isaac. "Hi, Dad."

_Wh-what's going on? _Isaac thought in disbelief, trying to process what he was seeing and hearing. _I…A dad…I have a daughter…I…I… _He was so stunned, that he didn't even avoid getting slapped by the girl.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" Isaac stammered.

"Snapping you back to your senses before you had a nervous breakdown," the girl stated. "I can barely even believe you are the same man who raised me."

M.O.M tried to take things in stride, and barely succeeded. "Well…remember that…your Dad is just a kid at this time, so…" Yet she couldn't stop herself from smiling, and at least shedding a tear; she was actually going to have a grandchild in the future.

"Please, I'm only fifteen years old myself," Isaac's daughter muttered, "and at this time, he's seventeen. Experience wise, I'm his senior at this point, and-"

A shuddering breath was heard, and she was surprised to find Isaac wrapping his arms tightly around her, and he shed tears. "I…I'm going to be a Dad…" That was all he could say at the moment. "What is…What will I name…?"

She couldn't help but smile, and hugged him back. At the same time, an air of bewilderment hung in the air. Was this young, tear-stricken boy, crying tears of joy at seeing his daughter from the future…the same battle-hardened man who raised her; the same man who didn't give a second thought to tearing off the heads of bio-engineered monsters with a twist of his wrist?

She reminded herself; this innocent boy had not yet been through that part of his life, and a part of herself hoped, despite her father saying it was inevitable, that he wouldn't have to go through that pain and suffering again. Trying to make herself forget such thoughts, she told Isaac her name.

"It's Amelia, Dad. But most people just call me Mia."

"Mia," Olivia said softly, "I recall Harold saying that was his mother's name."

Mia smiled, and looked around the library. She had never seen such peaceful surroundings in her life-time, and she knew that she didn't want her father to go through Hell again…even if one part of it was inevitable, no matter how things were changed.

"Now, let's go," Mia stated, and opened the machine's door, "those two are waiting."

"Who is?" Olivia asked.

"My Dad…" She stated, and looked at Isaac, "and my brother."

As the surroundings began to ripple and fade, Isaac sat there dazed. Olivia looked over at Isaac out of the corner of her eyes, and wasn't surprised. After all, he just found that not only did he have a daughter, but on top of that, a **son.** Olivia was equally as shocked, but more happy than anything that her own son would be a father himself someday. A part of her hoped that whoever their mother was, and Isaac himself, would be better parents than she and Harold were for Isaac.

"Well, here we go," Mia stated, "it isn't much, but it sure is amazing."

Amazing didn't cover it; the moment the shimmering stopped, they suddenly found themselves…somewhere. Amidst a vast darkness, a brilliant white stream flowed beneath them, and Isaac could almost see the glittering after-image of the library around them, like stars.

"What is…?" Isaac stated, in awe of the surroundings.

"We've just jumped out of the known Time-continuum." Mia explained. "We are still in the same place, though it may look like you are going forward…while for me, it is going back to where I came from."

Olivia marveled at the surroundings, but something suddenly caught her eye. The stream…was split into two. "What…what's happening over there?"

Pretty soon, they moved towards the divide, but instead of taking the straight path, they took the divergent path, and plunged further into darkness as the two paths separated, further and further apart.

"That is something that concerns me," Mia stated. "Even before I went through here the first time, we were never aware of that happening."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, already coming up with the most certain reason for the divergence.

"The time stream has split into two," Mia stated. "This means that someone from another future went back and changed the past."

"By first time you mean…?"

"I went back the first time as a test-run…" Mia stated, a little subdued, "since it was only a hobby of Billy's at the time. When I saw the split, I went back to my time, and informed Dad."

As this discussion took place, Olivia noted that the second time-stream could no longer be seen, and she saw a glowing red light up ahead.

"That's why it was decided to bring you two forward," Mia stated. "It isn't necessarily to help our future, since we could do it ourselves, but it is so you can find out what happened that caused the split, and repair it, so the time-stream will run its course again."

"What will happen to you?" Isaac asked in concern.

She smiled sadly, and spoke in resignation. "You'll go down the proper time-line, but my reality will remain in existence."

"…So…you will still have gone through Hell then."

"…At least it is better than never having existed."

Isaac didn't understand what this meant, and M.O.M simply concluded that the other alternative would be that the time-line would vanish once the change was made. However, Mia knew her father's darkest doubts in regards to what would happen. What M.O.M stated was only half-right.

The moment they came upon the red glowing spot, Mia smiled. "Here's our stop."

She pressed a button, and the machine submerged into the red glowing spot in the time-stream. The same shimmering as before was present through the glass, and when it stopped, so did Isaac's heart for a second. Was what he was seeing really Torrington Academy's library? Or to be more accurate, what happened to Sherbrooke, Quebec as a whole?

Mia opened the doors, and Isaac immediately jumped out, followed shortly by M.O.M, with Mia coming last. He looked up, only to find that there was no roof left, and the walls were also blown out, to show a desolate landscape with the occasional, ruined house being seen. In short, there was nothing left of the city.

"I don't believe it…" M.O.M said in shock. "What could have possibly happened to cause…this?"

"You two are going to help us find out. To be more precise, find out **who **tampered with the past."

Isaac and Olivia turned, and out of the shadows of the ruins nearby, a tall, white-haired man stepped out. He was completely dressed in black, and a scar extended out from his right eye, which was a sapphire blue. Isaac could immediately recognize who he was. After all, who would be blind enough to not recognize one's self?

"Isaac…" Olivia said in wonder, as the elder version of her son approached them. "You…you've changed so much."

"I'd be worried if I didn't," Isaac said, his tone almost emotionless, and he looked over at himself, and lifted an eye-brow. "I see you brought me along, as requested." He smiled, and placed a hand on Younger Isaac's head. "You must have been quite shocked when Mia told you who she was, weren't you?"

Isaac stared wide-eyed at…himself, and looked at Mia for help, who simply shrugged. Apparently, his future self acted like this once in a blue moon. "Well, it could have been him," Isaac stated, taking his hand off his younger self's head, "but it was Mia who won the draw."

"You mean…Mia's brother, right?" Isaac asked warily.

"Of course," a boy's voice stated from behind the time machine, "who else could it have possibly been?"

Olivia turned around, and had to do a double-take to make sure Isaac was still behind her. Isaac's son almost looked like an exact replica of his father except…upon seeing his face more clearly, Olivia could have sworn his face was a more like Diana's.

"You…?" Isaac began, but stopped. _So this is my son. _Isaac thought to himself. _He looks quite similar to me, yet despite him being Mia's brother, he looks no older than her. Is it possible that I have…?_

"Twins?" The boy stated. "Yes, I and Mia are fraternal twins, and if you are really wondering, my name is Marcus."

Isaac was bewildered; Marcus answered every single question he thought of in his head the moment they were finished, and not even. He smiled, and shook his head as tears flowed. "I…I don't know what to say…!"

"Then don't say anything, Dad." Marcus stated, and with a smile, hugged the young version of his father, who immediately returned the hug. Mia looked over at Olivia, who nodded, and joined the two. When she looked at Old Isaac, however, his face seemed grim. Leaving the young ones to their time together, she walked over to Isaac, and talked to him, as one parent to another.

"I warned Marcus to not use **that," **Isaac stated cryptically, "but that boy just can't resist. Glad my younger self doesn't notice or care."

Olivia looked at him strangely. Isaac spoke as if his son was…

She shook her mind from the subject, as it brought up painful memories. **That **and the name that Isaac's son shared with Diana's father…it just was too much. She quickly diverted to Isaac's reactions to the twins. "Well, it seems that your younger self is taking this quite steadily and well."

Old Isaac gave a small smile, "You may not believe this, but I never expected my younger self to take to this so quickly…must be my old naiveté."

"Well, you did take to trusting people a bit more after you met Diana," Olivia said, "since you'd give your life for her."

Old Isaac seemed to be in thought about something, and said, "Yes, that is true. Mother," he said seriously, "enjoy the happiness while you can, because I have to warn you; it won't last after it happens."

"What happens?" Olivia asked.

"…You should know," he said without emotion, "Since you've been keeping it secret from me and him for the past 11 years."


	2. We're All that is Left

After the brief meeting with the twins, Future-Isaac decided it was time for them to move. Bringing in a truck he had nearby, they moved the time machine into the trailer behind it, and Future-Isaac started to drive them towards the "New Center". On the way, he began to explain the situation of the current future.

"As you saw in the time-stream," He explained, "someone from another future, the "proper future", I'll say, travelled back into time, and presumably, busted Octavia out of the Center holding cells. While I'm at that point, I'll say this: I eventually agreed with M.O.M, albeit reluctantly, to leave searching for Octavia to Martin and Diana."

"The reason was obvious," Olivia stated to her son from the future, "I felt that you would take the search too personally, and considering how you went after Sousuke, you might have wanted to kill Octavia as well."

"M.O.M," Isaac protested, "I know I hate Octavia as much as Sousuke, but to assume that-"

"She was right to make that assumption," his future self stated, "because if I had been with Martin and Diana, I really _**would have killed Octavia."**_

Isaac was flummoxed; he just got contradicted by himself. M.O.M was equally flummoxed. "What do you mean?"

The older Isaac glanced at her for a moment. "Martin and Diana found Octavia two weeks after they were sent searching for her. But by then, they were too late. Octavia wasn't just broken out of prison; she was also given technology that was twenty years ahead of time, even by Center standards."

"What kind of technology do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"Instantaneous cloning, for one," Isaac stated, "which allowed her to produce an army of hybrid monsters, far more powerful than anything Octavia was able to make at the time. She even made a second Ultimate Monster, even more improved over the original."

Olivia and Present-Isaac gasped. Isaac heard the damage that one monster did; how could the Center have survived against two of such beasts? M.O.M also wondered how Octavia could have possibly...?

"She found a way to bring the original out of the dimension that Martin and...Diana, sent it to," Isaac explained, answering her question, "and using the original as a template, created a new monster, without the weaknesses of the original, and then some."

"What happened?" Present-Isaac asked.

"...A massacre," Marcus put in, and M.O.M and Isaac looked at him. "At least, that is how Mom-" He glanced at Olivia, and quickly at Isaac, "not M.O.M as in Center head, but **my **Mom, described it as."

Before Marcus could continue, Isaac picked up the explanation. To M.O.M, it seemed that he didn't want Marcus to say something. "Diana and Martin could do nothing, having been captured and bound, and were forced to watch from a screen as Octavia's army of monsters ripped through the Center, and everyone who was there at the time. ...She nearly got the three of us too."

"'The three of us'...?" Olivia inquired.

"Grandpa was with Grandma and Dad," Mia continued. "It was the first time since the Miyabe incident since the three of you were together...well, at least Grandma and Grandpa."

"What do you mean," Isaac asked.

"Your father came to check up on you right after the incident was over," M.O.M explained. "He was as devastated as I was. I couldn't blame him for negligence, since he was at a job, which left you to fend for yourself."

"...Why wasn't I told?" Isaac asked, feeling hurt. "Above that, why were you two nowhere around when I woke up out of that coma I fell into?"

Future-Isaac looked at his younger self. "They felt they had no right to. They believed they failed as parents to you. They both blamed themselves for their negligence. At least, that is what I was told...on that fateful day before the attack."

Isaac averted his eyes, and looked out at the barren land-scape. On the day his parents told him that, was the day life went to Hell. He understood now, why M.O.M was right about not letting him go with Martin and Diana. He felt like wanting to kill Octavia himself now.

"During the attack," Isaac continued, "even the C.O.R.E computer was obliterated. But not by Octavia..." He looked over at M.O.M. "...You blew it up yourself."

"_**I **_destroyed the C.O.R.E?" Olivia yelled out in astonishment, which very nearly caused her shocked son from the future to veer off from the road.

"For heaven's sake, Mother," Isaac stated, "don't do that again!"

"S-sorry," M.O.M stuttered, "But I just don't understand why I destroyed the C.O.R.E on that day. That is literally the heart of the Center; the literal center of every piece of technology connected to the Center network, and..."

"That is why you destroyed it," Marcus stated, finishing Olivia's own realization. "You did it to save all the other Center agents not at the Center at the time. If Octavia got a hold of it, she could have hunted them all down, and rendered the Center non-existent."

Olivia looked at Marcus, and he saw there was a sad look in her eyes. He didn't even bother with **that **to know what she was thinking – he realized that she knew. "I see that...you take after your mother's side."

Marcus silently nodded, and Present-Isaac looked upon the scene in confusion. _What is going on? _Before he could ponder further, his future self continued. "To say Octavia was angry about you doing that was an under-statement. What followed after that..."

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

"...I'll leave that to you to explain, Mother."

After that, nothing was said for the remainder of the day, and as Olivia and Isaac slept through that night, Future-Isaac continued driving. When they woke up, they were shocked to find an all too familiar sight. It was the small house in the country-side where Harold and Isaac used to live when Isaac was younger, before Harold began travelling around for jobs...it was the house where he first met Diana. There were some changes though, and to just say that would be an understatement, as Marcus explained.

"Cloaking technology, jamming technology, you name it. This little set of houses is fortified to avoid any kind of connection. We can even phase out of this dimension if we'd like to." That was part of what he explained.

Present-Isaac noted that his son talked about all these technologies as if he were an excited kid explaining how a new toy works. He only knew of one man who could set all this up.

"So...Colin's alive?" Isaac said hopefully.

"Alive and well," Mia stated, and became solemn. "...Out of the oldest of us, he's lasted the best through these years."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, as they stepped into the house.

"We'll take it from here," a voice called, ending the talk and two figures stepped out into the open. Both the past M.O.M and Isaac were slightly startled by the newcomers' appearance; they were M.O.M and Harold, and neither of them was exactly in perfect shape. "Harold," M.O.M said in shock, looking at her husband's leg, "your…leg, it's…"

"No longer flesh," Harold said, kneeling down to hold his now robotic leg. "Shortly after the attack when my leg was injured, it was found to be in too bad of shape to be usable, so…it was removed and replaced."

M.O.M went over to Harold's future self, and started to engage in conversation, and Isaac turned his attention to his mother, and he nearly broke down in tears, because in this time, his mother was bound to a wheelchair, and Octavia was to blame. "M-mom," he asked sorrowfully.

"Yes," She said, "I am not exactly in the best condition at the moment. I wasn't as lucky as Harold was…there's no way to repair or replace the damage done to me."

A burning anger for Octavia surfaced in Isaac, and he knelt down to the chair, and with tears in his eyes, hugged his mother's future self. "Mother," he said, "I swear, I will stop this time from ever happening. I don't want…to live the next twenty-one years…knowing that I've failed you."

"No Isaac," a voice said, "I was the one who failed your mother."

Isaac looked up, and found standing behind the wheelchair a tall, gruff looking man with a sharp face, brown eyes, blond hair and a small beard. Isaac quickly did a comparison, and realized who it was, although the base personality changed dramatically. "Martin," Isaac said, wiping away the tears, looking at the man, "is that you?"

"Surprised, are you," he said with a chuckle. _Nope, he barely has changed._ "Let me guess, a bit more grown-up than you expected?"

"Considering the time period I'm from yes. The last time I saw you, I just sent you flying for that same old comment about my hair."

"Well, twenty-one years of pain and being on the run can do that to a kid as jolly as me once." Martin's face became solemn, as if in bitter memory.

"Martin," Isaac said silently. He never saw Martin with such an expression on his face in the present. He realized that to do such a thing to Martin, he must have gone through Hell as well. His thoughts then drifted to the house he was in, and the two houses beside it.

"You said this was the New Center, right?" Isaac asked.

"That's right," Martin stated.

"But..." he asked, fearful of the answer, "the Center is supposed to be a giant organization, with thousands of agents and employees, on and off-world, and-"

"That is because..." Harold stated, with a sad tone in his voice. "...Along with the people living in these three houses...and Colin's group in Japan...**we **are all that is left of the Center."


	3. It is my Fault

"That is because..." Harold stated, with a sad tone in his voice. "...Along with the people living in these three houses...and Colin's group in Japan...**we **are all that is left of the Center."

Those final words speared through the young Olivia's heart, and she gripped her heart, and began to shed tears. "You mean..." her voice began to crumble, "...that despite everything that happened...even my destroying of the C.O.R.E to make sure Octavia couldn't find them...she..."

"...All the agents," Martin said solemnly, "Both young and old...aside from the people here, and Colin's group in Japan...they are all dead."

M.O.M couldn't handle it, and burst out crying. "Mom..." Young Isaac tried to speak, but he ended up wiping away tears of his own. "...Mom I'm so sorry."

She wiped her tears away, and let her child sit down beside her. "They were...all my friends," she said sadly, "and...all the kids like Martin and Diana...I've never told you before, but...they were all like children to me...because in each of them...I saw a little of you, Isaac."

Isaac was taken aback by everything he was hearing. He had never seen M.O.M so vulnerable before. "They were all...like family..."

Isaac wrapped his arms around his sobbing mother. "We're going to put an end to this M.O.M," Isaac stated, "I promise you. All those agents-"

"Were betrayed by one of our own," A voice growled.

The tears from both of them stopped, as did their hearts. They quickly looked over to Martin, whose eyes they saw burning in rage. "B-betrayed...They were...by one of our own?" M.O.M stated in disbelief.

Martin nodded. "How...how is that even possible?" Olivia yelled at him, standing up. "They all died because of a traitor that joined Octavia? How could such a thing-"

"Someone didn't want to be on the "losing side", as they called it," Isaac continued on, "and he was also sick and tired of being "second-best", as they also called it, to me and Martin. They were **also, **one of the agents you just described as being like your own child. It's a bitter irony, isn't it," he said coldly, "that one of your 'children' would stab you, and all the others in the back, for their own personal gain."

M.O.M's breathing shivered as she saw the coldness in her future son's eyes. _Like staring into an abyss...how much did this war change my son? _"Isaac..." she said with a shaking voice.

"Isaac," Future-M.O.M said angrily, "That's-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Young-Isaac exploded, and stomped towards his older self. "I can barely believe I'm saying this, but I'm shocked at how heartless my own future self has become! How could you possibly say such things to our mother? She hasn't gone through all of this yet, and yet here you are, attacking her like that. Am I really going to wind up a cold, heartless...**MONSTER?"**

"Oh, shit..." Martin's eyes widened, as if he knew what was coming.

"Dad," Mia pleaded.

Future-Isaac gritted his teeth, and stepped forward. "Go ahead," his younger self taunted, "give me your worst. I can take it."

Future-Isaac threw his arm forward...and wrapped an arm around his younger self. "Isaac..." Martin said, surprised at the sudden action. It didn't take him long to realize the meaning of his younger self's taunt, and had remembered that even 21 years ago...Isaac himself had his moments where he was just as cold, and heartless.

The young Isaac was taken aback as well. "What you can take..." his older self told him. "Hmph. I used to think I was prepared for whatever life could throw at me. I've been proven wrong many times since then."

"Dad..." Mia said sadly. Her brother put an arm on her shoulder. "I knew he wasn't going to do it. In fact, he was **expecting** his younger self to say those words."

The Future-Isaac escorted his younger self to beside his mother, and sat him down. "Mom," he said, and took his young mother's hands in his own, "I wasn't lying when I said those things, and what I said last is a truth; those we consider family betraying each other so fiercely is something we never expect, so while it is tragic, it is also ironic at the same time."

"Isaac..." M.O.M stated, placing a hand on her grown-up son's face.

"For heaven's sake, Isaac," Martin stated, "you read too much Shakespeare."

Isaac looked over at Martin, and saw that same smug look on his face. _Nope, his base personality hasn't changed._

His older self spun around, and shouted: "That's not Shakespeare, you dolt! And you just ruined a moment here!"

"QUIET!"

The voice exploded from the stair way, and bowled Martin over. All eyes were directed towards the stair-way, Isaac and M.O.M curious to see who the owner of the new voice was. "So she's up, huh?" Marcus spoke, his right eye twitching. "I'm surprised all the shouting got her up at all," Mia remarked soon after.

"Just who is this you seem annoyed with, my children?" Young-Isaac spoke wryly.

"Honestly, just what it that has got you guys all riled up in the first place," the voice, a girl's voice, spoke as she descended down the stairs, "it is almost as if-" She stopped as soon as she saw the Young M.O.M and Isaac.

Isaac got a good look at the girl as she stood upon the stair case. She had quite the problematic bed-hair, which was auburn in colour, wearing black pyjamas, and chocolate-brown eyes.

"I don't believe it," she said excitedly. "So you guys actually brought those two back?"

She ran down the stairs, and went over to Isaac immediately, and gave him an once-over, causing him to blush a little.

"So this is Isaac when he was kid, huh?" she commented, "He looks as much as a ghost like Marcus, just as you said Dad."

Isaac didn't respond to the comment, unlike his slightly annoyed children, and Isaac quickly realized who she was, due to her comment.

"But I have to admit, he is handsome, just as mother said," the girl said.

"That hurts, Vi," Martin said, mockingly putting a hand over his heart.

"Martin…so she is your daughter?"

"Who else could she be," Martin said, patting Isaac on the shoulder, "she called me Dad. Her name is Vivian."

"Vivian, huh," he said, and shook her hand. He noticed a resemblance to a girl he knew, but brushed it away, because he declared it impossible. "So Martin, which girl in the world finally fell for you?"

"That is something I would like to know too," M.O.M asked, curiosity pushing aside her logic.

"I'm a little insulted by those statements," Martin said, though he seemed to smile.

"So, I guess by all the shouting," a woman's voice stated, "that they are back with the younger Isaac and M.O.M."

"Wait a sec...!" Isaac said hurriedly, turning his head towards the door the voice came from. "That voice...it's-EEEEAAAAHHHHH!"

Isaac fell over in shock. After all, the woman he saw was the last person he ever expected Martin to end up with.

"JENNI'S VIVIAN'S MOTHER?"

"Of course I am," she said laughing, "Who else could her mother be but me?"

He gathered his bearings, and looked at Jenni. The times were generous to her, as Isaac freely admitted to himself that Jenni was even more beautiful than she was 21 years ago, even if she seemed a little worn from this Hellish reality.

"B-b-b-but…in _my _time, you avoid him like the plague," Isaac continued in shock.

"I can't say I'm not surprised," M.O.M said, who in fact did have surprise written all over her face, "Since that is what your relationship is like in our time."

She smiled sadly. "A lot has changed since then. I'm almost ashamed of myself that I had to see Martin go through Hell to realize there was more to him than meets the eye."

"So...Martin did suffer during this time, didn't he?" Isaac solemnly asked.

She gave Isaac a thoughtful gaze. "Both you and Martin will," Jenni said cryptically, "but I can assure you, both of you will help each other through it...should it ever come to pass in your time."

"We hate to interrupt…," the future M.O.M said, "But there is business to attend to," the future Isaac finished.

_Once again, someone is stopped before saying too much, _Isaac thought. "Before we do that," young Isaac said, "where's Martin and Diana's parents, and where is Java?"

"They are living safely back in Japan," old Isaac said with noted reluctance, "with Tatsuki_."_

"Oh," Isaac said wide-eyed, "really?"

"Yes," old Isaac said, his hand touching the _gift _he received all those years ago, "but we will be bringing Java back for what we are about to do."

"But how," Olivia asked, "you said so yourself...most of the people here are all that's left of the Center."

"After the Center was destroyed," Harold continued, "Octavia quickly expanded to global domination. ...She took a shot at Torrington Academy first, just because Martin and Diana were there."

"Then that means...!" Isaac said horrified, realizing what happened to Torrington Academy."

"...Me and Java were the only one who lived beyond that day," Jenni said, and a tear rolled down her eyes, "and even then, it was because of Java, and nothing that I did myself! Who thought being buried under rubble would save our lives? ...He even protected me as the building came down upon us!" The tears began to flow faster, and Martin walked towards her.

"Jenni, let me take over," Martin said softly, as he held her trembling hands. "You should know by now you can't remember that day without crying."

"...All right." She said softy, and he helped her to a chair in the room. Martin looked over at Isaac and M.O.M. "She took that day just as badly as Diana did," Martin said solemnly. "She even blamed me initially for what happened to Torrington. For a long time, I thought she was right. If I hadn't been part of the Center, she wouldn't have had to wake up to those...blood-stained surrounding," he wiped a tear from his eye. "For god's sake, explaining to you two makes it feel like I'm re-living the past."

"That's because we are the past," Isaac stated, "even if that is our future."

"Let's hope it doesn't become that," Martin stated, "after we find the scum-bag who changed history."

"Believe me, Martin," Isaac stated, "I have a good idea as to who it is...but I can't be certain."

"It's best not to jump to conclusions," Martin stated.

Isaac looked at him dully. "You did that all the time."

Martin shrugged it off. "Those were happier times," he stated, "I was allowed to do so. In fact, it helped me cope a little during missions, made me less nervous."

Future-Isaac sighed. "At any rate," he stated, "after the first day, me, Mom and Dad hid out here, the last place Octavia would look. When we went back to Torrington, I found Jenni and Java, and helped them out of the ruins. She was traumatized by what we saw when she woke up. After we got her to safety, we took a portal to-"

"I thought you said M.O.M destroyed the C.O.R.E," Young-Isaac interrupted.

"I confiscated one of the watches from Octavia's people," he stated, "that is how the attack took place in the first place. He was the one who shot M.O.M through the spine, paralyzing her. It was taken off him after...he was killed."

M.O.M saw the hesitance in Isaac's eyes, and to her horror, she realized what Isaac was talking about. _No...You mean at that time...you...?_

"We found Martin and Diana shortly after we got to the base. It was a temporary one, so they were the only one's there. Diana..."

He looked at Martin, uncertain if he could explain what happened. "...As I said before," Martin said, "Diana took that day quite harshly. After seeing everything that happened, from the Center's destruction to the levelling of Torrington...she was so traumatized, she couldn't speak for days."

"I...think I would understand why," Young-Isaac stated. Martin and Future-Isaac looked solemnly at him. "Seeing all of that...the Center's destruction and Torrington being destroyed...it'd be enough to traumatize anyone like her enough."

Martin said nothing. He knew just how wrong Isaac really was. Even the Isaac he knew thought she was broken the same way...before he found out the truth. He could remember Diana's chanting before they were both found, as she remembered the Ultimate Monster tearing through the Center, and the other monsters through Torrington Academy:

"_It's my fault...It's my fault..._"

Martin felt Diana didn't have to blame herself, but Octavia had continued to pound it into her throughout the initial assault that if it weren't for her helping to create the Ultimate Creature, her success wouldn't have been possible.

Because Diana still felt guilt over what happened, Octavia succeeded...


	4. And The World Rang

Throughout all of this, M.O.M couldn't help wonder about what happened to the Center's other greatest nemesis: Algernon D'evreux and Proteus Richard.

"What about Algernon and Proteus?" Olivia asked. "Surely they have to be some part in all of this."

It was Mia who responded. She noted that for some reason, Mia smiled sadly, as if in thought. "It was because of them that we've gotten to the point where we are now. In fact, they're why most of us are still alive."

Olivia and Isaac were stunned: everyone who was here today owed thanks to...Algernon and Proteus? "While Algernon's opposition to us can't be over-exaggerated," Future-Isaac stated, "and despite their actions in the past," has he stated this, he put his hand over his heart for some reason, "Algernon's heart has always been for the Center he envisioned..." He walked towards the window. "...Even with the kind of people he gathered around him, his heart was never meant for dominating the world. Even they felt that Octavia went too far."

"What happened," Olivia asked, wondering what became of her former superior in this time-line.

"In this present," Harold explained, "it was ten years ago, which makes it 11 years into your future. That is when the traitor betrayed the Center. During that time, Mia and Marcus had also been kidnapped by Octavia, and..." He cringed at the very memory of what they went through.

"NO!" Young-Isaac roared, standing up to look at his father. "You don't mean that Octavia...?"

"Her and especially the traitor," Future-Isaac finished, "just so they could hear them scream."

Isaac would have said something, but the eyes of his older self said it all alone. _Can my eyes really be that cold...? _He thought to himself in fear, as he stared into what appeared to be a void. "That traitor stabbed thousands of agents in the back, and caused my children to bleed." He reached up to his right eye, and gripped it with his fingers.

"What are you...?" Olivia asked confused, but the cybernetic beeping as he twisted the eye answered for her. Isaac shivered, as he breathed in a shaky breath. As Future Isaac took out his eye, both the young Olivia and Isaac could see the computer-like structure where there should be an empty eye-socket, and Isaac looked down at the cybernetic eye in the palm of his eye with his normal eye.

"He even took one of my eyes," Future Isaac stated. He glared at his young mother and his younger self. "In exchange for all the death and suffering he caused...I tore his heart out."

Isaac's younger self flinched at the graphic statement. He was even more shocked at the fact that he himself killed someone. As much as he felt like wanting Octavia's death himself, he never thought he could actually do it. Yet his own future self was able to do so to a traitor without remorse.

He looked at his older self. "I've really changed, haven't I?"

He watched as his older self re-inserted the false eye. "Going through Hell does that to people. Even so, we were talking about Algernon, weren't we?"

Isaac's eyes widened a little: yes, they were. "Yes, please continue Dad."

"At any rate, after what my son just stated," Harold continued, "Algernon and Proteus then joined up with us. Octavia had no motivation to share the world with them, and frankly, they didn't want the world either. When those two don't hold back, they mean it. Within a single year, with their aid, we pulverized base after base with aid from the remaining world governments," he looked at Isaac and Olivia," which will be explained later."

"Well, hearing what went on from a personal stance is more explanatory anyway," Olivia shrugged.

Harold allowed himself a little smile. His wife always wanted the details first, and everything else later when it came to personal matters. "Proteus even took the time to improve some of our technologies, and believe it or not, teach Mia his trade alongside Colin."

"Teach Mia?" Olivia questioned in surprise. She knew that if Mia was like her grand-father and father, she'd be the last one Proteus would want to associate with.

"Time's changed," Harold explained, "and so did those two. By the end of that year, we had found Octavia's primary base. While we had initially planned a full-out assault, those two went in on their own time."

"The next morning," Harold concluded, "the world rang like a bell. When we found where Octavia's base should have been, we instead found a city-sized crater."

"So they blew up the base...?" Isaac spoke in bewilderment.

"With them in it apparently," Future-Olivia, "since they left us a computer message that activated as soon as they got back explaining what happened. Octavia was away, though the destruction of her main base crippled her conquest immensely, and gave us the upper hand."

"Can you be sure they're actually dead," Isaac asked.

"The end of the message stated:" Marcus explained, "'I now entrust the Center to you; restore her in a way you see fit.'"

Even Young-Isaac realized the depths of such a statement. His Dad once told him that to Algernon, the Center was his life, and that the man would die before admitting the Center was no longer his.

Olivia rested her chin on her hand. "So even in the end," she stated, "Algernon would die for the Center, even if it was no longer his."

"And he died a hero," Martin concluded. "We all valued the Center. The main difference was what we envisioned the Center should be, and even that was put aside against Octavia."

Isaac looked down solemnly. Algernon, a man he so hated, managed to redeem himself in a hellish reality like this one, and all for the sake of the organization he devoted his life to. _There really is no Black and White in this world_, Isaac concluded, _just different shades of gray._

Future-M.O.M looked at the past version of her son, and wiped away a tear that had formed before anyone saw it. _He's still so innocent, even if he is from the past. I hope you have it in you to forgive the secrets kept from you in the proper time too._

"Now that personal discussions are over," Future-Olivia stated, "we should now explain the general details of the conflict."


	5. She Is Their Mother

"As we stated earlier," she continued, "Octavia first destroyed Torrington Academy due to the sole fact Martin and Diana go to school there. After that, she moved on to conquer the world's countries. Given the fact even normal Center technology is centuries, if not millennium above Earth's normal technology, many of the world's militaries were completely over-whelmed.

"Deploying nuclear weapons was not permitted, and they were all disabled, so Octavia couldn't get their hands on them. We had no choice but to enlist the remaining governments, since this became their fight too."

"We even relied upon the aid of many other paranormal sources, which helped boost our supplies. The species left from outer space who still maintained ties with us, the Alpha-Omega, even Atlantis, and-"

"Wait a second," M.O.M asked quickly, "what do you mean by those who "still maintained ties with us", and second of all, _**Atlantis?"**_

"Isn't that just a myth?" Isaac asked.

"After the C.O.R.E was destroyed," Martin explained, "many other planetary members of the Center severed their ties with Earth. While it is an alliance, Octavia was voted to be Earth's problem, and so there was no interference. Octavia doesn't have the means to go off-world in the first place."

"As for Atlantis," Jenni stated, "you'll find out soon enough. Given the fact they come along after the change in the time-line, we don't want to spoil the surprise."

Young-Isaac sighed. "I guess so, since if we contact them earlier, we could wind up creating yet another time-line."

Future-Isaac and the others looked at each other. "That's basically it. As for how personal lives turn out, you can see it from here, and what has also been mentioned."

"Even though we haven't heard much about your personal life, Isaac," M.O.M stated.

_I don't need to be told,_ Isaac thought with a shiver at the impossibility that formed in his head, _I think I know who my wife is._

"To continue on, after making alliances with all those races, we managed to create technology, with Colin's help, that would help us fight those biological monstrosities."

"The two best technologies are the DNA Disruptor Cannons and Bombs!" Marcus said happily, and pressing a button on a cabinet nearby, revealed a compartment space with three, hand-held cannons, and six sphere. "All of these were made by Colin himself. The man is like a jolly old grandpa when he's at work, like he is now."

"Now?" Young M.O.M asked. "What is Colin making now?"

"We'll get to that later," Harold stated, "so for now, Marcus, put that stuff away. Your grandmother and father need to be caught up on things."

Marcus did so, and Harold continued explaining. "As we stated earlier, Algernon's sacrifice helped us to get where we are today. After she lost her base, we began mowing down every other subsidiary of her operations. She has been reduced to a single, isolated base, having gathered all of her remaining resources there."

"But without the knowledge of what the hundred creatures and the super creature were made from, there was no chance of easy victory, and the jamming technology of the facility prevents portals from opening and becoming spotted from space, which hid it so well all of these years. Consider it to be her back-up for the base she lost nine years ago."

"If you have Octavia pinned down like this," Olivia stated, "I suppose the only reason why we were picked up from the past is to find out the cause of all of this."

"Precisely," a small voice stated, and M.O.M and Isaac leapt out of their seats when Billy popped up behind them. "Diana was also the one who suggested it in the first place. None of us could go back to the past to change things, since that would permanently lock them out of this time-line. So, only someone from the past can fix the past, so to speak.

Billy didn't change much over the years, still popping up when least expected, but the same couldn't be said for Martin and Isaac. Martin seemed like his old man now, and it was apparent to the young Isaac of his older self's anger at Octavia, because he gained it too, but even he wasn't aware of how much deeper it had gotten in the elder.

"Speaking of her, where is Diana," Isaac asked, "I haven't seen her anywhere."

"That's another reason for bringing you here;" Martin replied, "Octavia somehow managed to capture her, and is being held at the facility."

_Martin __**does**__ sounds like his old man,_ Isaac thought, and then turned his thoughts to Diana. _Diana, _he thought, _I don't know how much this war has affected you, but I promise you this..._ He clenched his fists. _...I will change things back to the way they're supposed to be, I promise!_

"So of course, we need to help you free Diana before we go back, in case reality branches off when we go back," M.O.M stated, "Am I right?"

"Yes, and to shut down the jamming grid," future Isaac responded, "since we can't open portals in to take over because of that, so we can attack the base before they have time to respond."

"Would it help if we presented some technologies of our own," young Isaac asked.

"I'm not sure that they'll work," Mia retorted, "since it's the future and… wait, that's it! You still have U-watches, and these new version are independent of the computers in the Center, right?"

"You know your stuff, Mia," M.O.M replied, pleased at having such a granddaughter, "Yes they are. It was a new precaution after the first attack, when Martin's shorted out. They should have the tools you need." It then occurred to her. "By the way, what happened to your own?"

Martin and Isaac looked at each other, and then back at M.O.M. "Many of them were destroyed in the war," Isaac stated.

"And on top of that," Martin shrugged, "their warranties expired. As well as the fact the C.O.R.E computer contained all of our information on Center creatures, including the ones Octavia uses to create her Bio-monsters. When the C.O.R.E went down, all that information was lost."

"Which makes it just another reason why destroying the C.O.R.E came back to bite me, right?" M.O.M stated with a sweat-drop. "I would have made even the LegendDex independent, but there was too much information."

"The U-Watches have a warranty?" Isaac asked confused. "It's a ten-year warranty," M.O.M explained, "even Center technology has insurance you know."

"Then how...?"

"By using the Bio-scanners, of course, because if they can be adapted to the DNA Disruptor technology, both weapons should have 100% efficiency. On top of that, it would be stupid of our future selves to not collect as much DNA possible from the monsters they have destroyed already, so they should have a database for that."

"It seems that this discussion is settled," the older M.O.M, "we'll use the tech in the U-watches to upgrade the DNA weapons, that way we can determine what genes make up what monsters, and reduce them to the vulnerability we have endured over the years. We've gathered much info on all the kinds of monsters we've fought over the years, so this should make things much easier." At that, the old M.O.M and Harold left the room, along with Martin and Jenni, leaving the young Isaac and M.O.M with his older counterpart, Billy and the kids.

"All right," old Isaac said, "with that problem solved, let's solve the super-creature complex. I plan on sending the five of you to infiltrate Paine's fortress, with my younger self going in to gather information, and the rest of you will come in if he comes back, _or_ in the event that he is captured, and this indicator will tell you if he is." Old Isaac continued, handing M.O.M a silent beeper. "I am counting on you to look after my children, mother, since you're the one who does it best. You are, after all, a mom, both in business, and by blood."

Young Isaac was amazed that it was the young M.O.M who was told this by his older self, and it seemed that M.O.M was touched, because he could see she was smiling, and had a tear on her cheek. At least one positive thing, Isaac realized, came out of these years; he must have grown closer to his mother "Isaac," M.O.M began, "I…"

What would have come next would have been touching, if not for Vivian, who interrupted with a sentence neither of the young counterparts would forget: "What about me, _**Uncle**_? Shouldn't I be looked after by _**Grams**_ as well?"

The reactions in the room were split in two; the future Isaac, Billy and the twins looked at Vivian with glares that could have melted diamonds, causing her to cower in fear like a little girl, while the past Isaac and M.O.M were petrified by the sentence, particularly Isaac. _She called me UNCLE? _"The-then it really means that..." He spoke shakily, and calmed down, looking at his children. "Diana...that means she...?"

Olivia simply smiled, and looked at her son happily. "There could have been no one else, Isaac. She is their mother."

"You could have simply asked, and I would have told you," Future-Isaac stated, with a fond look on his face. "I didn't say anything about her because I knew you had already figured it out."

Isaac fell into a chair, and began to cry tears of happiness.


	6. Secrets In History

Olivia stood outside her son's room, which was prepared in the house to the right of where the meeting took place, as she watched him fall asleep with a smile on his face. _I'm not surprised that he is smiling, _Olivia said, bearing a smile herself, _I'm probably happy for the same reasons._ She closed the door to her son's room. "I better get off to bed too," she told herself, "it's going to be a trying day tomorrow."

The future Isaac sat in thought in the living room downstairs of the other house, deep in thought. Not about tomorrow...but what he hadn't told himself and his mother. Even if the world had changed drastically from the shift in the time-line, there were still isolated events that most certainly would have occurred in both time-lines. Those events were determined by the people involved in them, not the over-all surroundings.

"Can't sleep?"

Isaac looked to the door, to see Martin leaning against the door. "I could say the same thing about you," Isaac stated. "I take it you came to check up on me."

"You think? You know how much we didn't explain to them. Can we really just stand by as we let **our **younger selves go through another Hell aside from this one?"

Isaac's eyes narrowed. He knew full well what Martin was talking about; that first year after the Center was destroyed tested both men to their limits.

"As far as I know, those events are part of the natural time-line," Isaac stated, "and take place separate from Octavia's conquest of the world in this one."

"Your point being that we should just **let **those events happen to us?" Martin asked.

"...Exactly."

"Good grief," Mia stated, turning around after her brother had finished changing into his pyjamas, "who knew that our Dad was such a softie in the past?"

"I wouldn't say he is a softie," Marcus stated, dressed in red pyjamas, "I took a few looks into his mind during the times he's heard of what Octavia had done, and...It's quite scary how dark his thoughts are. He didn't exactly have a standard childhood, but for it to affect him to that extent..."

"Dad always takes things personally," Mia admitted. "Remember, he killed the traitor for what he did to us."

"He and Mom didn't talk for a long time after that. In fact," Marcus admitted, "I remember they only talked to each other again after Algernon and Proteus took Octavia's base with them, a whole year later. We lived apart at that time; it was so polarizing to Mom what Dad did."

Mia set out her black pyjamas, with a solemn look on her face. "There are times like that," Mia stated, "when Dad really could have been described as...the monster that traitor always called him. She once called him that too, I remember her telling us." She looked up at Marcus. "Turn around."

Marcus began too, but as he did, his eyes couldn't help but look at her back, and those horrible scars they both got back then. They got those scars in many places on their bodies. They were only five years old back then. He walked towards her, and she sighed. "I told you to turn around," she stated, but stopped her protest when his hand touched the largest scar – a horizontal cut right across the spine below the neck – on her back.

He then traced his hand down her spine, and all the other scars she endured. He stopped as he touched the black strap of her bra, and retracted his hand. "Sorry," he told his sister, "I just can't help but remember those days. You tried to be strong and not cry," He stated, "being the first-born out of the two of us. ...But I could tell – no, I could hear your mind crying out in agony. It was all because you were the one most like Dad."

She stood up and turned around to face her brother, with her front showing three brutal scars along it. Only one was from the war. The other two were from the torture. "You suffered too," she stated, and unbuttoned his shirt half-way, and laid a hand over a circular scar right above his right lung. Below that now, there was an artificial lung, another reminder of those days. "If it had been more to the left, I'm still not sure if..." She didn't finish, and instead allowed her hand to rest on the mark just above her brother's heart – the likeness of a phoenix.

"How many times do I have to explain it, Mia," Marcus stated, resting tender fingers on the same mark which was also just above the heart on his sister's body. "That symbolizes what we inherited from our Dad, even if I take more after Mom's side."

Mia reflected on her brother's words. It was true what Marcus said. While neither of them had the misfortune of going through **that, **by that man's hands, they still knew that their father and grand-father had to go through it.

She pushed Marcus a little at his shoulder. "Now turn around," she said, remembering her irritation, "and let me change."

"Isaac, you know how much I hated going through that," Martin protested loudly. "You should know that as well. It also caused friction between you and Diana."

Isaac stood up from his chair. "Martin, if I could something about it, I would, but the unfortunate truth is that there is nothing to be done. We can't be even sure if it will happen again."

"This is Octavia Paine we are talking about," Martin stated, "if she finds some way to do so, she will, even in the proper time, even if events happen differently."

"So if not you, then just pass it along to someone else?"

Martin paused. "Martin," Isaac stated, "I'm sorry. I already know that it will happen no matter what happens. You remember seeing what happened to those families; that had nothing to do with Octavia at all."

"But what happened later did," Martin reminded Isaac, "and...Almost everyone in the Center after that was turned against me. You remember what happened when I was found after Octavia captured me."

Isaac's eyes widened, and he averted his eyes. At that moment, they had both been isolated from the Center, when Isaac was forced to stop Martin after he had massacred no less than 12 agents. Martin, for the blood he had shed; Isaac...for just being what he was.

"Isaac," he went on, "I'm quite positive your mother knows that **Void** came out on that day."

Isaac glared at Martin. "You don't think I am aware of that? Of course she'd know."

"Isaac, that's no small matter, especially for you! Sure, when the time-line is righted, that day won't occur, but it could very well inevitable that it will happen someday in that time too."

"If M.O.M wishes to still keep that secret from me, so be it," Isaac stated. "She is well aware the seal began weakening after Sousuke's energy knocked loose the locks. She could never stop **it** from coming back."

"Good grief such resignation," Martin said exasperated, and shouted, "ISSAC, YOU OBLITERATED THE **ULTIMATE CREATURE** WHEN VOID CAME OUT!"

"Dad, Uncle Martin...?"

They looked towards the twin's room, and saw Mia in her black pyjamas looking at them. She averted her eyes. "To think that after so many years," Mia stated, "that _thing _would be brought up again."

"Sorry, Mia," Isaac told her, "we were just having a discussion."

"A loud one," a voice stated, and Future-M.O.M wheeled out of her bedroom, Harold still asleep. "I thought we went over this a long time ago; even with what Void represents, if it weren't for him, I would be dead."

"There's more to it than that," Martin explained. "It...Just doesn't feel right to not at least warn them about what is to come."

"That's the most trying thing about time travel's existence," Olivia explained, "we wish to change the past, but it can have unforeseen consequences for the future, even if the change is a good thing, something bad can come of it if it is changed too much."

"But what is bad about warning them about the hell that is coming in the future for Isaac and me?"

Olivia averted her eyes, and re-directed them back at Martin. "Like it or not," Olivia stated, "Those events made you the men that you are today. There are just some things that we just have to accept. What is going to happen is inevitable; we just have to accept that."

"...Now go back to your house," she told him, "You shouldn't keep Jenni up late."

"...Yes Ma'am." He stated, and left.

"I'll help you into bed, Mom," Isaac said, knowing her wheel-chair bound state made things a bit more difficult for her. As he walked over to M.O.M, he admitted this to Mia. "There's a letter I want you to give to my younger self when they leave back for their present. Diana made it before she was captured. It'll be their last connection to this time-line...and as Martin wanted us to do, warn them, of at least **him."**

Mia knew full well who "**him" **was. She nodded, and went back into her room. "Discussions about the past," Marcus asked.

She knew he over-heard the discussion, but he would simply ask because it was to make conversation. "Yeah, they were."

"There's only one thing that I hope," Marcus stated, as he got into his bed.

Mia then climbed into her own bed. She already knew what Marcus had hoped. They both hoped it, as well as did Vivian...for both their father's sakes.

"You hope that we are born in the proper time."

Marcus looked over. "It's just...so much will change when they find out who brought this...world upon us, and stop Octavia before she can put it into motion. I don't want Dad to have seen us...and to later find out we won't even exist...that Mom never marries him."

"One of Dad's greatest fears," Vivian told her Mom, "is that in the proper time, me, Mia and Marcus will never be born."

Jenni widened her eyes. Her husband never shared such a concern with her. Yet she understood why he was concerned. Back then, Martin openly admitted to her that he thought she was only growing close to him because she had pity for him, and that when it was over, things would just go back to the way they were.

But Jenni knew that Martin was simply narrow-sighted in that regard. When she heard of what Martin was going through, she was shocked, and it made her completely reconsider her view-point of Martin. She had heard everything from Isaac, and when he explained it, she realized just the kind of man Martin really was.

"He's afraid that in the proper time, you won't grow to love him as you did in this time. That because so many things will not have happened, namely the war, you..."

She placed a tender hand on Vivian's, and smiled. "He has nothing to be scared of. Sure, maybe back then, I was mostly interested in boys and popularity...but that was before what happened on that day," she stated, and wiped a tear away. It was true; every time she remembered that day, she'd shed at least one tear.

"Back then, I may have hated Martin, and blamed him for Torrington being destroyed in the first place. But after Isaac explained everything...I began to actually understand about what kind of person Martin was, and what he was going through."

"And then Martin did the same with Diana for Isaac, right?"

Jenni smiled. "Those two were inseparable during that time, and no matter what happened, one of them was always there to support the other. I guess that is how both I and Diana began to clearly see those men for who they were."

"So despite everything they went through," Vivian asked, "and despite thinking other-wise, you grew to genuinely love Dad, and Aunt Diana grew to love Uncle Isaac?"

Jenni smiled sadly, remembering those days. "At least I did. Diana always loved Isaac in her own way, even before **that...**It was just a very hard road for them."

As she finished that, Martin walked in. "Sorry to keep you ladies up." He stated.

"We were just finished talking about the past, dear," Jenni stated. She stood up, and embraced her husband. "Don't worry, I'll love you no matter what."

Martin understood that Vivian told her, but he simply smiled, and embraced Jenni similarly.


	7. Planning for the End

Planning for the End

The next morning arrived, and the moment Isaac stepped off the stairs to the ground floor, he was soon gripped in the air-squeezing embrace of a familiar giant, who was laughing joyously, and wearing a Japanese kimono.

"Java is so glad to see young Isaac again!" Java bellowed in tearful happiness, and he hugged Isaac tighter (who felt that his organs were about to be pushed out).

"Yeah..." he wheezed, "Me. Too...but...Java..."

He took in a deep breath when the Caveman finally let go. "Sorry," he apologized, "it's just that...Isaac has become so different over the past 21 years."

Isaac's eyes widened a little. Was it just him, or did Java's speaking skills improve? Before he could ponder further, a familiar voice reached his ears. "Of course, that is the Isaac we know...this is the Isaac of the past, Java."

He looked behind Java, and immediately saw a relatively middle-aged man with green dyed hair. He immediately knew who it was. "Colin!" Isaac said, a note of happiness entering his voice.

He went towards him, but slowed as he saw the sad smile on Colin's face. "I can see that you are delighted to see me, as always." He gestured for Java to meet up with everyone else.

_It seems that everyone has that sad look on their faces when they see me, _Isaac thought. _Did I really...change that much?_

Speaking of change, Isaac remembered that Colin should be in his late fifties, but looked no younger than he did twenty-one years. It occurred to him, that so did M.O.M and Dad. "Why do you all look so young? It only occurred to me just young."

"The miracles of the Center's medicine," Colin spoke proudly. "For us, 55 years old is the new twenty-five." As he stated this, Isaac's eyes drifted to the giant bag that Colin was carrying on his back. Colin noted Isaac's drifting gaze, and smiled.

"This is what I was working on for your older self," he set it down with a loud bang, "it is very important for taking down the Ultimate Creature 2.0."

"...And also so that he can save Diana," Isaac added on.

Colin looked at Isaac. "So you know that Diana's going to be your wife, huh?" He chuckled. "What a privilege."

"Not exactly," Isaac admitted, "I don't even know if it'll end up being the same in the proper time."

Colin sighed. "I guess you have valid concerns in regards to that," he stated, "and then some." His eyes widened, and he swore; he wasn't supposed to mention **that. **"But that's enough for now. Let us finish things up and send you home, shall we?"

Everything about the plan was explained, and memorized by everyone. There was a powerful jammer set up around the compound in a 10 kilometre radius, meaning they had to sneak towards the base on foot. The Older Isaac, Martin and Java would provide a distraction, so that Mia and Marcus, along with the young Isaac and M.O.M, could sneak into the compound, and disable the jammer, as well as find out any information as to who caused the time divergence.

For Isaac, the parts of the plan that were lightly briefed upon, which he knew meant they were hiding something, were as follows: when he had asked his older self what would happen if there were re-enforcements from outside the base called in, he simply stated: "I'll let Colin, and especially Dad handle them. Especially with Dad there, there should be no problems whatsoever."

Second of all was the plan to deal with the monsters at the compound. After the jammer was down, the two weapons that Colin had prepared were sent in. Isaac knew what the Bomb did, as it would obliterate any normal monster within range of it. However, the details of the Cannon were left untold to him, though he did know that it would be used on the Ultimate Creature. Colin only said this about it: "After the Cannon is used on that thing, it should be no problem for Martin and Isaac to dissect it."

He wanted to ask M.O.M why they were so confident, but she only nodded in understanding, though she herself seemed confused at the statement about Martin being included in the fight. Isaac didn't understand why, and wouldn't understand for a while. He logged all this info away, so as to not distract himself, and focused on his own task: finding out who caused the time divergence. Even with this, the Old Isaac gave Mia something to give Diana when he found her, something that confused him immensely: a strange ring emblazoned with the sun.

At the same time, he noted that Martin seemed to have a sword by his side now. He didn't believe such a thing would be any good against the monsters, but...he felt something, from both the sword, and the ring. He felt...power.

For Diana Lombard, this war had been a living nightmare, especially the opening year of it all. She blamed herself for the possibility of this ever happening, as she was the one who helped Octavia create the Ultimate Creature she so desired. It was no more than a week ago that Billy's time-travel experiment found something that lifted some of that guilt off her shoulders – someone had changed the time-line. Diana had gone off on her own to Octavia's head-quarters, as she immediately knew who was responsible for it all. However, she was too hasty, and got captured and imprisoned for her efforts. However, even in prison, she allowed herself a small chuckle. While it would be doable, considering their small numbers, Octavia's plan to extinguish the remains of the Center – Diana's family – was too small-scale, and typical of Octavia, a vast under-estimation of them all.

However, she felt that something wasn't right, because the plan was too small scale. It was as if Octavia had something up her sleeve, though she was going to great lengths to make it look like it was the real one. The bandaged area of her right arm said that quite clearly; Octavia had stripped the top layer of flesh off her left arm. _At least my hand was left untouched, _Diana thought, cradling the arm in its brace, _though I still can't really move my arm._ She felt that somehow, the person who was responsible for the divergence in time, someone she knew quite well, had a far more dangerous plan in store. In some ways, it was a bitter irony; that person from the proper time was far more dangerous than their counter-part in this time...

It was a long and tiring trek for Isaac, Martin and Java towards the base, or at least, before they encountered the first border guard of monsters. Octavia now trusted those things more than she trusted her Human agents. However, they weren't close enough, and needed to get closer. So, they decided to cut through slowly but thoroughly – by taking out the monsters before they knew what hit them.

Java, Martin and Isaac took aim, and pulled the triggers on their D.N.A Cannons. The moments the beams struck, not a sound escaped the monsters' mouths as they dissolved into slime. "How satisfying it is to see those things go down so easily," Martin commented happily, as they walked. "It is quite the change from the early days of the war, where the only one who could dispatch those brutes so easily was..."

He silenced himself when Isaac glared at him coldly. He apologized, and they walked on. Martin knew that Isaac didn't like to be reminded of those days, because back then many of the Center agents still alive likened him as being a bigger monster than the ones they fought now, especially after the incident with Void.

They knew it was only a matter of time before another patrol noticed the pile of slime where their fellow monsters were taken out, so the trio picked up the pace. At the second patrol line, they earned similar results, and began to trudge forward. Java sniffed the air as they moved forward.

"There is a giant monster up ahead," Java stated, and gritted his teeth, "Java recognizes the smell." He put his ears to the ground, and he widened his eyes, and look up. "It's coming this way!"

Up ahead, the trees began to fall apart, and out into the clearing, burst a massive monster. It ran on four legs, and sported three scorpion-like tails along its body, along with two monstrous heads to boot, on a draconic body. Isaac recognized this breed of monster as well: it was Hunter-Killer. Octavia had specially made it to deal with Isaac himself.

"Java," Isaac gestured to the Caveman, "stay back. Martin, back me up."

They gave their D.N.A weapons to Java; they wouldn't work on a monster like the Hunter-Killer, and frankly they wouldn't need it. They would struggle a bit, but due to its specialized nature, it left it vulnerable to what Martin was packing. "Well, I guess the distraction has come ahead of schedule then," Martin stated, and placed a hand on the sword at his hip.

"Let's make it count," Isaac said with a smile. "Besides, I hope this one's improved over the old version; it went down too easily last time."

The beast roared, and charged at the duo. Java shivered in anticipation for the spectacle he was about to see, as it was awe-inspiring, and terrifying whenever Isaac let loose. He shielded his eyes from the light that emitted from Martin's blade the moment he began unsheathing it, and was knocked to his feet, dust kicking up as the clash began.

The distraction succeeded. All the monsters patrolling the base were sent towards Old Isaac and Martin's location, and he was sent in, and made sure to lace his path with nano-transmitters, so that his mother and children could follow his path. He didn't understand why they sent him off post-haste the moment the monsters began moving away from the base, though he did figure that it had to do with...whatever he felt prior to the movements in the base.

He blocked it all out; he couldn't lose focus on the task at hand. As he moved through the base, a special jammer on his person rendered him invisible to the cameras, and he made sure to avoid the patrols still inside the base, as he made his way to the main-frame, to place the first part of the virus that would cripple Octavia's jammer system. All it needed was an input from another code that Mia had, and the joint would be left vulnerable. Then, they'd all go and find...Diana.

He allowed himself a small smile. _It's hard to believe that Diana is the mother of my children...at least, in this time, _he bitterly reminded himself. He knew that it was likely that the changes to the time-lines would be quite drastic and there was the possibly that Mia and Marcus wouldn't exist. He tried to distract himself from these thoughts, by looking through each file that the virus would affect.

The virus, which was also searching for critical files of Octavia's – no telling what else she had planned – suddenly came upon two separate files of interest. Apparently, his future self had it search for specific files. Strangely enough, both detailed two different plans, each made by Octavia. As he contrasted the two, he knew his hunch was right. One of the plans was too simple, and he knew that he himself would snuff it out the moment it was put into place. But the other plan...

_Dear God, _Isaac thought in horror, _has that woman lost her mind?_

He felt a small prick on the back of his neck, and immediately swung behind him, an unknown being cackling mockingly as his vision blurred. He quickly concealed the virus' programming on the computer before he blacked out...

When he woke up, he suddenly found himself strapped to a strange chair, with frightening implements of torture around her, or at least looked like them. "Do you like it," a voice spoke, and he turned to look towards the smirking, blond haired woman that stood, looking at him with contempt, "Isaac?"

His eyes widened in shocked, but he quickly regained his composure. "Hello, Octavia," he told Octavia, "Still as despicable as ever in your old age."

"Don't flatter me," Octavia spoke back, "I'm nothing in comparison to your older self. Not many people have it in them to so casually tear out the hearts of those who betray them, despite the traitor once being an ally. Diana was even naive enough to want to give the traitor a second-chance."

Isaac's eyes narrowed in irritation. Was it due to Octavia's comment, or that Diana was willing to give someone who back-stabbed the Center so painfully a second chance? This, he didn't know...nor would he remember. "But, in the end, the traitor chose to forsake his humanity and become a monster, so even I'll admit you were perfectly justified in doing what you did; that man cared about nothing but taking your head, and Martin Mystery's."

"He seems to have something in common with you," Isaac spat. Octavia didn't flinch at the remark. "I wouldn't graph the flesh of a demon to myself. In our agreements, that is something I wouldn't do."

"How hypocritical," Isaac stated, "considering you turn agents who fail you into mindless beasts."

"It's a matter of business," Octavia explained, as a lizard-like being walked into the room, "I can't afford people who fail their jobs into an organization; it weakens the links of my organization."

"What's left of it, you mean?" Isaac said, and noticed the being. He saw her picture in the file, but he pretended to not notice. "Who is that," he jabbed, "a relative of yours?"

"A smart mouth, just like your father," Octavia responded, not at all amused, "this is Venasso, and she has the ability to cloak herself to become invisible, or become whoever she wants, and sounds like them too."

"Go on, Venasso," she told her associate, "Give young Isaac a taste of your abilities."

At that, Isaac watched in horror as Venasso seemed to reshape herself, and became a person, that even with an extra twenty-one years added, he easily recognized: Venasso became Diana. "Hello honey, missed me," the fake Diana taunted.

The taunt nearly got to Isaac, but he barely managed to maintain his composure. "That...won't work, Octavia."

"Hm," Octavia spoke, "we'll see about that." She began to explain. "Along with having Diana's appearance, I also improved Venasso's power Among other things, she also has Diana's memories."

Isaac gritted his teeth, as the fake Diana came towards him. "So that's how you knew that I was coming."

"Precisely, Isaac," Venasso stated, "we knew about it all before you even got here. Believe me; you'll be fooled quite easily, as he has no fore-warning whatsoever." With that, the fake Diana leaned in, and to Isaac's horror, planted a kiss flat on his lips.

He snapped, and spouted quite the profanity at Venasso as he struggled against his bonds.

"That's quite the mouth you have," Venasso stated, "but among the improvements that Octavia made, was that I am now a picture-perfect copy of your dear Diana, down to her D.N.A. At least, that's when I'm in her form. I..." She smiled viciously, "certainly enjoyed eating her flesh."

"YOU FILTH; I SURE HOPE THAT MY OLDER SELF GUTS YOU!"

"Venasso," Octavia stated, "please go and get prepared before he starts yelling more; he's giving me a head-ache."

Venasso nodded, and left, leaving Isaac and Octavia alone. "To tell the truth," she suddenly said, "I don't think the plan will work either."

"What do you mean," Isaac said with anger evident in his voice.

"You're too smart for such a plan," Octavia stated, "and besides, even if Venasso became Diana down to her D.N.A, she can't replicate her soul, which is something you'd notice in an instant."

Isaac eyes widened. _Diana's...soul; _Isaac thought to himself, _how would I know the differences based on that? That's more in line with what Tatsuki would..._

"And that is why the instrument of their destruction," she stated, and clicked a button on a machine, "will be _**YOU."**_

"Me?" Isaac stated in shock. "How could I possibly be able to –"

"Kill everyone that remains in the Center?" Octavia smiled wryly. "Oh, I forgot, you don't know, do you? Well, for starters, they wouldn't dare risk killing the Isaac of the past, for fear of drastic consequences to the past, and to time itself. Second of all, there is the power inside you; the only power that can equal yourself."

Isaac's eyes began shaking, and he twitched as a machine jutted painfully into the nape of his neck. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Isaac demanded to know. "You aren't making any sense, Octavia!"

"Don't worry yourself," Octavia spoke, "you won't remember any of it happening in the first place. I'll wipe your memory of this time, as well as your mother's. You'll blissfully, and ignorantly, follow time as it is...straight to your death."

She pressed a button on the machine, and an obsidian fluid flowed into Isaac from the machine attached to his neck. He screeched out in pain, and his world went black.


	8. Compensating for Failure

"Not a bad attempt, this one," Isaac said, wiping his hands clean of blood. "It actually made me put in some effort."

"But no matter what she puts out against us," Martin said, yanking his sword out of one of the Hunter-Killer's deceased heads, "we do manage to come out on top. Though you are right; this new one was a bit harder to handle."

He looked behind himself, as he sheathed the sword. "Java, it is safe to come out now."

The Caveman immediately came out from behind the rock he took shelter behind, and surveyed the surroundings. No matter how many times he saw it, he was always in awe.

A rumbling caught their attention, and they looked towards the base to find a horde of monsters charging at them. "Java, get those Cannons ready," Isaac told him, and took one himself; the last fight tired him out, "things are about to get chaotic around here."

At that moment, a chilling sensation of a loss of self coursed through him...

"KYAAAAAHHH!"

"Mia, what's wrong?"

Mia had fallen to her knees, and was gripping her head in pain. "It's...Dad! I don't know why, but somehow, he's...!"

M.O.M's eyes widened in horror; it was the Isaac of the past; **her **Isaac that was in trouble, and more than that...had Void come out this soon for some reason? _No, that's impossible, _she told herself, _even if being nearly killed by Sousuke weakened the seal, Void and Isaac's power shouldn't be coming out this early._

She gritted her teeth, and her hands tightened into fist; Octavia was forcing it out! "We must get in there, now!" Olivia ordered Mia and Marcus. "If we can't get to Isaac, then we can at least release the virus, and break Diana out of confinement! I'll lead the way."

"...No," Marcus suddenly stated. "**You **are going to where Father is. He'll be able to stop his younger self. Once you have him, run for it back to the Center, and don't stop for a second."

"Marcus, what are you...?" Olivia protested, but an unnatural look in Marcus' eyes stopped her. "Hell is going to be opened up here, today," he said, with a strange tone in his voice, "I don't want you caught up in all this, because if you do...you'll die."

Olivia's eyes widened, as she realized what Marcus meant. _Foresight, _she realized, _he's seeing the future. Is he really that powerful? Is it his natural power or a combination of his own and...?_

She nodded. "I understand."

"Make sure to warn Dad," Marcus stated, before Olivia ran off towards where Old Isaac, Martin and Java were.

"Marcus, are you certain that...?"

"...Mia, I've never been wrong before, not even 10 years ago, when I wished I was wrong the most."

Mia sighed in resignation, and she and Marcus ran off into the complex. Her brother's fore-sight was very powerful, but also put great pressure on Marcus. It had only ever appeared 5 times in his life-time, in times where significant, life-changing events would occur, or powerful entities unleashed. Every single time, he was right, and no matter what they did to prevent the events, they were always inevitable.

At this point, Mia resigned herself to this one fact: as long as Marcus's Foresight never appeared, everything would be fine. When it did appear...she could only pray that no one ever died. She did so ever since that day ten years ago.

"Well, now that's over with, we have a clear shot at the base."

Isaac, Java and Martin made sure to watch their steps, as the monster residue had made the ground slippery. He looked at the Cannon in his hand; it was empty on charge. He tossed it aside.

As soon as they were out of the small lake of slime, Isaac looked back. It seemed that Harold and Colin two were already done with the reinforcements, or...

"Let me guess," Martin asked first, "you two decided to forgo waiting, and took out the installations all on your own, right?"

"What do you expect us old men to do," Colin commented jokingly, "sit down and sip tea while we wait for all Hell to break loose?"

"Have you forgotten that we are the closest connected to Octavia out of all of you," Harold told them. "Octavia should be our generation's problems; there's no need for your generation to be caught up in it."

"Dad," Isaac stated, "From the moment those guys were sent after me and you, our generation was caught in it."

"...True," Harold admitted, "but it is finally time to end all of this."

They nodded to each other, and they made for the base's front entrance. As they approached, the gates open, and even more monsters poured out. Those weren't the main concern; what was happened to be the shaking sound that reverberated from inside the gate. They watched as the second version of the Ultimate Creature came stomping out of the gate. It looked like its predecessor, but much more powerful, able to stand up to even Isaac and Martin combined effortlessly. It did so many times before, but that was because of its twin immunity to magic and spiritual powers. Once the Cannon got there, the tables would be immediately turned.

Out from its left side, Octavia stepped out, and from behind her, two more monsters came out, gripping the arms of the woman between them.

"DIANA!" Java yelled, but Isaac held him back from charging at the two monsters.

"Impulsive as always, Neanderthal," Octavia jived, and snapped her fingers. The monsters tossed "Diana" to the ground, and Octavia pulled out a gun, and she gripped Diana's neck, and pointed the gun at Diana.

"I will only say it once," Octavia declared, and gestured at Diana "Isaac Alexander and Martin Mystery give yourselves up, or I won't be responsible for what happens to Diana, or your younger self."

Isaac was stunned, yet not surprised. By that presence he felt earlier, he knew something happened to his younger self. Octavia wasn't fooling him. "What will happen if I do surrender?"

"I will let both Diana and the younger you go, and you can all leave peacefully."

"That doesn't make any sense does it? Just by handing ourselves over, it doesn't mean it is the end for the Center."

"You underestimate me, greatly Isaac. Just like your mother, eventually destined to lose even though you beat me once, and to end up imprisoned, or in Olivia's case, bound to a wheelchair."

Isaac gritted his teeth. After all of this is over, he would give Octavia exactly what she deserved: death.

Mia and Marcus didn't bother with subtlety, and simply ripped through the base. Eventually, they split up – Mia would download the virus, while Marcus searched for their mother. Marcus found Diana first, and with his telekinetic powers, tore the door off his hinges. "Marcus," she smiled weakly, "I guess things are underway outside."

"Yeah Mom," he stated, and looked at the braced arm. "Hold still," he stated, and he placed his hands over the arm. Along with his own psychokinetic powers, he inherited a bit of his father's gift, and set to healing his mother's arm.

"Mom," he told her in worry, "something's happened to the Isaac of the past."

Diana gasped, and looked away in pain. Marcus didn't need to look into her mind to know what she was thinking. "You don't need to blame yourself for what may have happened," Marcus told her, "you've done that enough, and we can't predict the future."

"...I know," Diana stated sadly," but I was the one who suggested that he brought forward to figure things out, and now he's in danger. It always seems like that I'm the one who causes Isaac the most pain."

Marcus remained silent, and took Diana's now healed hand out of the brace. He couldn't deny the pain that Diana had once inflicted upon Isaac; it was a story they frequently told.

"Mom," Marcus told her, "you should stop thinking about all the bad things in your life, and focus on the things that make life good, and worth living. Me and Mia are proof of that, aren't we?"

Diana stood up, pulled Marcus up with her, and gave her son a hug. "I couldn't have asked for any better children than you two."

"Thanks Mom," Marcus stated, and put a hand into his pocket, "Mia gave me this to hand to you. It's about time you dusted it off."

When he pulled out his hand, he was holding the case with the ring. Diana took it, and donned the ring. "It's been a long time since I wore this," Diana stated, "but you seem certain that I'll need it."

Marcus' face was grim. "We need to meet up with Mia. Along with downloading the virus, she might be able to help you find the person who interfered with time in the first place."

"Believe me," Diana told him, "I know precisely who it is."

At that, they left off, and met up with Mia in the main-frame room of the now deserted base; Mia and Marcus had wiped out all the stragglers. "Mom!" She yelled happily, and glomped Diana, nearly knocking her over. "Why'd you have to be so reckless?" She then chided Diana. "Do you have any idea how worried we all were?"

Diana returned her daughter's hug. "...Sorry," she explained, "I just wanted all of this to be over and done with."

"At any rate," Marcus stated, "right now, we have two problems to deal with. One is the Isaac of the past. I don't know what Octavia did, but something happened to unleash his powers."

"That could only mean that..." Diana's eyes widened in shock, "that Octavia's going to use the young Isaac against Isaac and the others."

"The second thing is why you were given the ring to use," Marcus explained. "The Foresight kicked in last night, and Dad decided you'd need that ring again for what is to come."

"...I see," Diana stated, and then started walking away. "You go meet up with your Dad; I've some business to take care of."

"Right," Mia stated, and with a jolly look on her face, pressed the ENTER key on the computer. The virus was now delivered, and Marcus sent the signal.

_Dad, _his son's thoughts reverberated through his mind, _the virus has been delivered._

_Understood, _Isaac said, and to make it look like he was giving up, he sighed. "All right, Octavia, you win. You can have both me and Martin."

"Well," Octavia boasted, "it seems family means more to you than saving the world."

"They matter in equal measure to me," Isaac replied, knowing what he said was true.

"You come over first," Octavia stated, "I'll hand your younger self over afterwards.

He and "Diana" started walking towards each other, and met in the middle of the field. "Thank you, Isaac," 'Diana stated. "If you didn't Octavia would have..."

"I would never do anything to cause harm to you," Isaac responded, and he walked towards Octavia and 'Diana' towards Martin and Java. "But then again," Isaac shouted as he pulled out the gift from the concealed U-watch that the young Isaac gave him, and shot a charged electromagnetic blast at 'Diana', "you aren't my wife," Isaac continued, looking on at the screaming, paralyzed fake, "are you, Venasso?"

'Diana' then changed back to Venasso, causing Martin and Java to only become more stunned at these events. "HOW DID YOU KNOW," Venasso screamed.

"For starters," Isaac stated, "your souls are different. Even if you are genetically her, with even her memories, you can't replicate Diana's soul for what it is. Second of all, Diana would never have said "Thank you" to me in a situation like that."

"Now Octavia," Harold stated, "let's end this."

He placed a call back to the Center, and Billy immediately came through the portal with the DNA Super Bomb, and the Neutralizer Cannon. The bomb was immediately triggered, and all the monsters in the vicinity were blown away, except for the Super Monster.

Billy tossed Colin the Cannon, and he fired it at the Monster. A static coursed along the monster's body, yet it didn't disintegrate. Octavia's eyes widened; it was no longer invulnerable. "GET THEM!" She ordered, and the creature charged forward, roaring.

It was only a minute later that Olivia had finally reached the clearing where Martin, Isaac and Harold had just finished dealing with the Ultimate Creature. It was literally in pieces, most notable was the fact that its head was cut off.

She stood there in shock. _A...Amazing, _she thought, _those three took care of it so quickly. That monster once nearly destroyed the Center single-handedly. Seeing this, it reminds me of one of the reasons why Algernon once described them as being so..._

She shook her head, and recalled what she was there for. "Isaac," she yelled out, "there's something important I need to tell you!"

As she ran to where he was, he raised a hand. "I already suspect what Octavia has done," Isaac told her, "and what is going to happen after that. Your only concern is to get my younger self out of here."

Olivia finally noticed Octavia, and did indeed note that she seemed too...composed that her Ultimate Creature was destroyed. Then, she sighed. "Of course you'd figure out something was going on," Octavia admitted, "since in the time he came from, that brat has yet to find out what kind of monster he really is."

"Then it's quite hypocritical of you in order to use..." Olivia struggled to find the words, "...To use my son like that!"

She smiled maliciously. "But that's precisely why I'm doing it."

"COME!"

At that, a set of slow foot-steps came from behind Octavia. As the figure made itself clear, Olivia gasped in horror at what she saw, and she shook in anger. It was Isaac, but he didn't look his normal appearance. Across his body, a pattern of black and white lines criss-crossed around his face and arms. However, it was interrupted by grey, pulsing veins, and the whites of Isaac's eyes were completely gray. Blue pulses of energy danced around him.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ISAAC?"

"Just a nano-tech virus that affects organics," Octavia said happily, "and it came to Earth two years before Marcus and Mia were born. I managed to obtain a sample before it was all destroyed by the Center. I've modified it so that I have complete control over whoever I use it on."

"I used it on a good deal of my agents to enhance their physical abilities, though the one who betrayed your precious Center instead opted to graft Demon flesh onto his body. It made it a lot easier for your son to rip his heart out."

Olivia looked at Isaac, but saw that he was shocked as well. He directed one of his eyes at her, and then back at his younger self. "It's true; he was trying to obtain power to match my own, as the nano-tech didn't provide any of that, but the nano-tech...It even enhances spiritual powers if it affects one with such power."

"Precisely why I infected the younger you with it," Octavia stated matter-of-factly.

"KILL THEM!"

Before Olivia could react, her son appeared in front of his father in a blink of an eye. He reacted in the same instant, and the power blew her back...

At around the same time, Diana had made her way into the deepest part of the base. It was clearing in the center of it all, with a complicated rune on the ground. It was vast. "This..."

"I see you recognize it," a voice from behind her stated, "though I made many improvements to it. It is bigger, and far harder to shut down. It reaches down into the deepest depths of Hell, and summons the most powerful demons that mankind's fears can conjure. A twisted irony about species that live on a planet centered upon a Magical Nexus: it is their fears, angers, and all their negative emotions, that give birth to the Demons they fear. They embody mankind's darkness, and hence, a symbol of mankind's own self destruction."

"That is true," Diana stated, "though there is also light that goes against that darkness. However, there are people like you that would use that darkness for your own gain."

"It is the only reason why any power exists; to be used for one's own gain. That is part of the reason why Warlocks, witches, and Druids are born; magic pulls out the darkness in their hearts, and they consume themselves."

"...I see," Diana concluded, "it seems that the proper timeline birthed greater darkness in you than your counter-part. But that also gave you greater focus, and has made you that much more dangerous." Diana began to slowly turn around. "The only person who could have desired to change time for their own benefit; the only person who could use such a darkness to destroy the world...would be you."

When she turned around fully, she glared at the blond haired woman that stood before her, a grim yet smiling look on her face. Diana shivered; the darkness in Octavia Paine's eyes was chilling.

"My other self made an admirable effort," she stated, "but she's failing in the end. I might as well erase this Earth to compensate for her failure."


	9. Fracture

Fracture

"Just what could possibly drive you to do such a thing?" Diana interrogated. "Even knowing you in this time-line, you only ever concerned yourself with taking over the world, and killing us."

"But is she really me," Octavia responded, "The same way the Isaac brought back from the past isn't the one you married?"

"What are you getting at?"

"It's all simply trivial, you must understand. She has gone through far different experiences than I have, so she can't be me. Your bringing the younger Isaac here has set him on a path divergent from the Isaac you know, so they can't be each other anymore."

"...You might be right," Diana admitted, "and I know that even if he changes the past, this time-line will still exist; this Earth will still exist when he leaves."

"I take it that this is where you try to stop me," Octavia wagered.

Diana raised her hand, and an azure flame radiated from the ring she wore. "Right here," Diana stated, "right now."

Octavia smiled coldly. "But I started it before Isaac even arrived."

Diana's gasp at that fact was punctuated by a powerful reverberating through the air. "Oh, and by the way," Octavia mentioned, "did I forget to mention that my other self knows about all this?"

The resounding flash of light blinded Olivia temporarily, so she couldn't see the end result. The nano-machines did their job to perfection; not even Isaac's older self and Harold could stop him in such an enhanced state. As a result, Martin risked it all in the attack that caused the flash of light.

The light began to recede, and she looked over at where Martin and Isaac had clashed. As the dust cleared, she was shocked into silence.

"...No."

"You mean she knows what is going to happen?" Diana asked fiercely. "She's too selfish to let such a thing come to pass!"

"We both came to the same conclusion Diana," Octavia stated calmly. "As long as I am alive, she doesn't care what happens to her. As different as we are, we still hold some similarities. I'll still win."

"Not on my watch." Diana said, and with a mental command sent a stream of fire towards Octavia...which passed through her and obliterated the wall behind her.

"...A hologram?"

"Did you think I'd care to stick around for the show," Octavia asked with a mocking laugh, the hologram flickering. "For the other Octavia, this was the final insult to you and the Center; despite defeating her, the world will still end. But for me, it was nothing more than an experiment before I do the same thing in my home time-line."

"So this all was just an experiment? The entire time-line was just you testing a theory?"

"That is precisely the case. And the fun part is that no one from the home time-line was able to follow me, so my experiment will continue."

Diana gritted her teeth in frustration.

"I just need a little more time, and this will provide the perfect distraction in the home time-line. By the time I'm done, there will only be one time-line."

"DAMN YOU!"

"Good-bye, Diana Lombard," Octavia spoke happily, "good luck surviving in ground zero."

The hologram flickered. The ground began to spark with magic. Diana managed to get out of the circle just before Hell ripped its way into reality.

A small pool of blood had formed between Martin and Isaac. The sparks from the blood were a result of the nano-machines in Isaac's system shorting out.

Isaac's arm was run through Martin's right lung, missing the heart, but still a critical wound.

Excalibur went right through Isaac's stomach.

"MARTIN! ISAAC!"

They stepped back from each other, arm and sword removed from each others' wounds. Martin stumbled and fell to his knees. Isaac fell right over. M.O.M ran right over to her son, to see if he was still alright. To her amazement, the sword wound was closing up. It was slow, but noticeable. She knew that Harold was able to heal fast, but this...

"Pesky nanites," Martin spoke, and spat out a little bit of blood, "but I have to thank them this time. I disabled Isaac's powers with that last attack, so while the nanites won't jump-start those again, they're still keeping Isaac alive."

"Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Uncle Martin, Java!" Mia and Marcus called, running around the bend.

Before they could react, a black arc of light shot out from the base. They all looked up. Harold recognized what was going on. "Olivia...that black light...!"

Octavia broke out into maniacal laughter. "Do you recognize it, HAROLD? Doesn't it bring back fond memories of your last mission?"

"You bitch," Isaac said, struggling to his feet, "what have you done?"

Her face twisted into a smile, insanity showing through. "It is a fracture in the dimensions between Earth and Hell that not even the Mirror can compare to now! Researching that and combining the principle with a Hell circle, we've created a gate-way surpassing both!"

" 'We'," Harold questioned, and realized; "You mean you and the other Octavia."

"It is a final going away present for you and the Center, Harold! You may have beaten me, but now Earth will pay the price!"

An azure comet shot out from the sky, and landed on the ground, revealed a battered and bleeding Diana. "Diana," Olivia asked in shock, "how...?"

"Something you've got to find on your own," Diana said, and looked at Java. "Java; get Martin, Isaac and M.O.M out of here!"

"But Diana," Java protested, but was stopped.

"Please, just do it Java!" She cried out. "It has always been about the four of us to Ocatvia to begin with," she yelled, referencing herself, Harold, Isaac and M.O.M. "But we can at least keep M.O.M safe! We are also the only ones who can withstand the coming onslaught!"

"D-Diana," The Caveman said, struggling with tears in his eyes.

"I'm staying!"

Colin walked forward, and took Excalibur from Martin's grip. "It is the least I can do!"

"So am I!"

"Mom!"

"Olivia!"

"Grandma!"

Olivia walked over to the older Isaac, and took the gun from his grip. "It's because of me that Octavia started on this path; I should be here for when it ends."

"But it is too dangerous!" Diana screamed. "You need to get back into the past, and -"

"You all have told me before," M.O.M interrupted, "that this time-line will exist even if we go back and stop Octavia. All her anger is directed at me primarily anyway. The only thing that matters for me is Isaac's safety...If I can't get back, then at least he can."

She looked back at Java and Billy, who both had Martin and Isaac over their shoulders. "Get out of here now!"

A massive roar ripped through the air. Like a starter gun, the moment they heard it, Java lifted Martin over his shoulders, and M.O.M, Mia and Marcus lifted Isaac up.

"Billy, get them out of here!" Mia cried out.

Wordlessly, Billy opened a portal back to the homes. Sparing a look back, Billy saw a giant serpent snake its way upward. Before it lunged, Billy went through the portal, and it closed.


	10. Empty

Empty

Isaac felt like his mind was split open when he finally came to. His eyes flickered as they opened, and was blinded by the lights above him. Everything after he was knocked out was...static. He couldn't remember anything.

He leaned up from the bed, noting an odd stinging sensation in his stomach area. Looking down, he noted he was dressed in what looked like a white patient's gown. He looked around, and he saw M.O.M in a chair fast asleep.

"...Mom?"

Olivia coughed a little, and rubbed her eyes. Isaac didn't notice before, but it seemed like she had cried herself to sleep. The redness of her eyes also supported this. "Isaac? Are you awake?"

"I wouldn't have woken you up if I was still asleep." Isaac said, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What happened? My memory has a big gap in it that just seems like static. But I do remember looking at the computer, and that summoning circle, and...Oh my God..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. Olivia had lifted the stomach of her shirt up to reveal bandages and blood. It was only then that Isaac realized that his mother was similarly bandaged over her arms and legs.

Memories of her coming back home half-dead flashed through his mind, and he began breathing heavily.

"Don't worry about me so much," she simply said. "Sousuke did worse. It's been over a week, and you've been intensive care all this time."

M.O.M at least told him part of the truth; she told Isaac that after Isaac was knocked out, he was dragged out as a hostage. It was apparently a trap, and Octavia gutted Isaac before setting off the Dimensional portal.

Isaac didn't buy the story at all, and from what he saw in his mother's eyes, she knew he didn't. "Mom...what happened to Diana? Was she rescued?"

The question caught M.O.M off-guard, and she averted her eyes. "Isaac..."

"...M.O.M?" Isaac said weakly.

"...Tatsuki doesn't know..." Olivia spoke, her voice cracking, "when Diana will wake up."

* * *

"So in the end...you really couldn't kill her?"

"Martin, this is the fifth time I've explained it to you."

"Isaac, but you've never given me the real reason. All that "stand trials for her crimes" stuff is BS, especially coming from you. You've been out for her head since...well, the Traitor incident."

Isaac looked at Martin grimly, and over to his left side. His arm was completely gone, and he had yet to get a prosthetic. "...Killing her wouldn't have changed anything. Besides...a part of me thinks that isn't what I would have done when I was younger."

Martin laughed, and cringed as he grabbed his chest, over the area where his right lung used to be. "I see your younger self got to you, though I can attest differently."

"Though believing that my younger self wouldn't have done anything like that is contradictory to history," Isaac spoke, looking out the window. "After all...Void..."

"I can see it in that eye of yours," Martin said, pointing to Isaac's still flesh and blood eye, "You want to tell Isaac more than anything."

"I don't want anything of this to happen again...I don't want to go through that again...I don't want Diana to hate me again..."

A tear escaped his eyes, and Martin realized. It wasn't Isaac that re-ignited Isaac's more merciful side...it was losing Diana. Martin also understood Isaac's feelings far too well.

* * *

"How does it feel?"

"It feels a bit odd, but I think I can get used to it."

Marcus moved the toes of his new leg. It was just his luck that despite all the precognitive power he had, he couldn't use it in battle. If he was able to, he wouldn't have had a leg incinerated. He was lucky to make it out of that hell-hole at all. How did his grand-father manage it the first time around?

He looked up at the soft chocolate eyes of the one tending to him. Miyabe Keiko didn't have the trade-mark blood-red eyes of the Miyabe Clan, and instead inherited her father's eyes. "You could have done something, but I'm glad you weren't there."

"I know," she said softly.

"Still..." Marcus spoke, gritting his teeth in anger. "Why did Mom have to go and do **that**? There had to have been another way!"

"...I think she did it because it was the fastest way," Keiko spoke, "because otherwise, everyone else might not have made it out alive."

"...It just isn't fair... The entire world is still intact...while my mother isn't."

* * *

Mia stood outside alone in the rain. She felt it reflected her emotions.

She was right there when it had happened. She saw her mother make one of the greatest sacrifices anyone could have made. The last words she said still reverberated through her very soul.

"_This isn't for the world. This is so my children can live to see another day."_

Mia tightened her hands into fists until her skin bled. Damn being able to see another day! The days in the future were simply the same as days of the past! How could she stand to see another day, and the days after that, without her mother?

She gritted her teeth, and tears streamed from her eyes. All she felt was...EMPTY! And yet...her mother...

"_I love you...Amelia."_

She screamed into the sky.

* * *

Isaac stood there outside where Diana was in bed. All he could do was just...standing there, staring at her.

There was no emotion; no thought. There was just an incomprehensible void that just opened up in his heart.

Was Diana really no longer there? Had she really given up her soul to save everyone?

"Isaac..." Olivia said softly, putting a hand on Isaac's shoulders. "It's time for us to go."

Isaac simply closed his eyes. "I don't...understand. How can Diana's body be there, yet she herself is not there at the same time? How can her body still be alive yet an empty shell at the same time?"

Olivia fought back the tears that were forming in her eyes quietly. "I don't understand how it could happen either."

"Isaac...we should head back to our own time."

"...I'll come soon."

He felt his mother's hand let go of his shoulder, and heard her foot-steps walk down the hallway.

Isaac opened the door to Diana's room, and walked in.

He sat by her bed-side, and held her hand. It was warm to the touch, yet for some reason, Isaac couldn't feel any life from it at all.

Instead of feeling alive...Diana felt dead.

"How has anything been fixed, Diana?" Isaac pleaded to her silently.

Reluctantly, he let go of her hand, and walked out. He didn't look back. He was afraid that if he did...he'd no longer want to leave her side.

* * *

Isaac was in a daze for the trip back through time. He and M.O.M didn't bother to say their good-byes, only leaving a note of apology...an apology for not being able to help as much as they wished. Along with them, they took the note that was intended to go back with them.

The time-line they left was still a broken world, which just barely escaped complete devastation from Octavia's last act of vengeance.

Once they arrived back at Torrington, literally a few seconds after they had left it before, M.O.M set the time-machine to destroy itself in the time-stream. It was just too dangerous to keep around.

Isaac simply went to his room, and slept through the night, hoping that in some way, he could consign that future to a dream.

The next morning, he woke up from a dreamless night. M.O.M had told her over the phone that Octavia had been re-captured and thrown into a jail cell, and the information she was given was destroyed. She had suggested a search for a chronal signature, and when one appeared, it was a simple matter of opening portals there, and arresting.

Isaac felt that it was bitterly anti-climactic. Everyone nearly died; Diana had lost her soul, the very thing that made her who she was...and he was out cold, unable to do anything to help. He simply wanted to tear the world down due to his own powerlessness. And all of that was simply stopped, just like that.

Yet the time-line still existed. It would always exist now.

After getting changed into cleaner clothes, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Diana.

"Isaac, I heard about everything that happened from M.O.M," she began. "All that time-travel business sounded crazy, but I just wanted to-"

She didn't get time to finish. Isaac simply grabbed her, and hugged her tightly.

Diana was stunned, and blushed at the same time at the gesture. It completely vanished, however, when he heard Isaac weeping.

She didn't need to ask. M.O.M had told her everything about what happened. She knew M.O.M had left parts out, but she knew what had happened to herself. She just didn't want to believe it, but Isaac's crying confirmed what M.O.M said.

She felt the cold wetness of the tears on her shoulder. She simply returned Isaac's embrace, and did her best to comfort him.

But all she could do was stay by Isaac's side, and get him through the day. Her future self had given up her very soul for the lives of the people she loved.

Diana simply had no idea how she could measure up to that.


End file.
